


togetherness makes the heart grow fonder

by Mastouffe



Category: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Cartoon 2018)
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Bonding, Telepathy, or more like twin telepathy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-09-15 14:28:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16934970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mastouffe/pseuds/Mastouffe
Summary: Being alone with your thoughts? Not exactly pleasant. Having to hear your brothers own thoughts as well? Down right horrible.Unfortunately for Don and Leo, they're going to have to make things work.





	1. Chapter 1

Twin

_Noun_

  1. One of two persons or things closely related to or resembling each other.
  2. Something containing or consisting of two matching or corresponding parts, in particular.



 

 

Donnie first heard the word when he and Leo were sitting down in the living room, their dad having past out from eating cake, watching TV. It was a comedy show about a pair of twins living in a luxurious hotel – something about a sweet life? Or was it suite? Donnie wasn’t really paying attention. 

But then Leo pointed out how they looked so similar to each other and how the pair on screen had described themselves as twins and that’s when Leo gave him the biggest grin ever. 

“I think that might be us!” 

And Donnie, despite being nine years old at the time, knew that they weren’t really twins. They were far too different: the two were different species – with him being a soft-shell and Leo being a red-eared slider, the differences were clear as daylight. 

Except when Leo was giving him those all to eager and excited eyes well…Donnie found it kind of hard to say no. 

“Maybe.” Donnie said and Leo clung on to him, giggling as his soft-shelled brother tried to push him off.

 

* * *

 

 

Donnie is fourteen when he decided that humoring Leo with the whole twins thing was probably a mistake.

“Hey, since we’re twins and all, ya think we might have telepathy? I saw something about twins possibly having those powers. It’d be kinda neat you know.” 

Leo is sitting on Donnie’s bed, absently browsing through a magazine while his brother is fixing Mikey’s broken tablet. “That’s impossible.” Donnie replied back simply, far more concentrated on the task at hand. 

“You’re no fun.” 

“Well it’s true you know. Considering we aren’t, you know, twins. We’re different species, it’s biologically impossible. And besides,” Donnie snorted. “I wouldn’t wanna have _you_ poking around in my head.” 

There’s silence between them as Donnie continued to work and then Leo got up with a huff. The soft-shelled turtle looked up, a puzzle expression on his face. “What?” 

Leo gave him a hurt look and geez, Donnie didn’t understand why Leo was so mad all of the sudden. He just told him the truth! It’s not his fault his brother didn’t understand how genetics work. 

“That’s uncalled for. Also years ago you told me we were twins!” 

Donnie had to laugh at that. “I said maybe. I never said yes.”

“So then you just lied? How is that any better?” Leo accused him and Donnie could feel his temper flare up. He couldn’t understand why Leo was making such a big deal out of this, considering he only ever brought up the twin thing a few times the past years. Though Donnie supposed it was his own fault for going along with it. 

“This is getting old Leonardo. I don’t have time to argue with you.” All they ever did lately was fight. 

“Yeah?” Leo glared at him. “Well me too. I don’t want to be around someone that thinks sharing cool powers with a family member isn’t awesome!” 

If there was a door, he would have slammed it shut but the entrance to the sewer pipes weren’t optimal for doors, so Leo left stomping down the hall, leaving Donnie alone. 

 _‘Ugh. How did it ever get to this?’_  

It was a question that Donnie found himself thinking lately, whenever he and Leo fought. Which was getting frequent and the only way they stopped was when Raph intervened or when Mikey tried to calm them down. He had mulled it over in his head – was it their differences in personality? Donnie knew he was rather anti-social, which was the complete opposite of Leo. Or rather the opposite of all his brothers. But Donnie got along just fine with Raph and Mikey but with Leo…it was a different story. They’d been so close as kids. 

 _‘Well great. Now I can’t concentrate.’_  

With a sigh, Donnie placed the broken tablet away – he’d get to it later in the day.

 

* * *

 

 

It’s five pm when Donnie had decided to go back to fixing the tablet, when Raphael yelled for him and told him to suit up. The local museum was broken into – none other than by Hypno himself – and when Donnie dashed out to meet him, Leo barely spared him a glance. He did the same. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Donnie saw Mikey look between them and give Raph a worried look. The eldest brother crossed his arms. “You two gonna be okay in this mission?” 

“Yeah.” 

“U-huh.” 

Donnie heard Raph sigh. “All right then, let’s get going.”

 

* * *

 

 

The mission had not gone okay. It should have gone smoothly but family problems did have the habit of rearing its ugly head in. 

For starters, Hypno was there, having stolen some artifact in hopes – and he quotes – “of communicating with Doug from beyond the grave.” Apparently bringing his friend back from the dead was out and talking to the dead was in. 

Secondly, Raph and Mikey had teamed up, leaving a very tense and awkward team up from Donnie and Leo. And Donnie, despite trying not to let the situation get the best of him, made a slip up that led to both him and Leo get hit with Hypno’s stupid artifact. _That_ had distracted Raph and Mikey, who had run up and check if they were both okay. And they were! 

Except that led to the third reason why the mission had gone wrong: he was left with a terrible and nagging headache. 

Oh and Hypno had escaped too. 

So techincally that was four reasons but right now, Donnie didn’t care. Not when the mission had caused another argument to break out between him and Leo and Hypno had used that as a means to escape. 

Okay – maybe Donnie did care. Just a little bit. 

Still, all he wanted to do was sleep. His head was still pounding and he would’ve gone and taken some pills but Raphael had gone head first into the kitchen, no doubt to catch and Donnie and have a talk with him – probably about his stupid fight with Leo – so obviously he did what anyone with a problem would do: run the opposite direction. 

So now he was here, battle shell left on the floor, lying in bed as he tried to sleep off the headache. But as always, whenever Donnie was having a terrible night, thoughts would always invade his mind and cling to him. 

 _‘I hate this. Why can’t this stupid headache just go away. Why did I tell him those things? Why am I such a terrible brother? I –‘_

_‘’Ugh, it’s too late for this – can’t I just loathe myself in the morning?’’_  

 _‘What?’_

_‘’Huh?’’_  

Donnie’s eyes were wide open as he quickly sat on his bed, his head spinning as he tried to process what he had just heard in his head. 

Because that thought – it wasn’t _his._

Donnie sat up straighter as he tried to concentrate, ignoring the background noise of his computers whirring around him. He wasn’t going crazy right? He definitely hadn’t heard someone that sounded familiar to him either. But then the voice spoke up again, ringing in his head. 

 _‘Uh, anyone there? Maybe that thing hit me harder than I thought…’_  

There’s a beat of silence and then – 

 _‘_ _3.1415926535 –‘_  

_‘Oh my God Donnie?!’_

And the only thing Donnie could think of was _‘Shit.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't posted any of my writing since 2014 so needless to say, posting this is a little nerve wracking. Forgive me if there are any mistakes!
> 
> Hopefully I can update this weekly? I haven't really written any multi-chapter fics. I really love rise of the tmnt though. Let me know what you guys think!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo pressed on. ‘If you don’t let me sleep I will sing that song. You know which one.’ And then neither of them would get some sleep.
> 
> Leo doesn’t hear anything for a moment and then a second later, ‘Ugh. Okay. If only because I know you won’t shut up.’

If someone had asked Leo when he was younger, that if being able to hear someone’s thoughts would be cool, he would have responded with an enthusiastic yes! What little mutant kid wouldn’t want that kind of power? The possibilities would have been endless for little Leo. 

In theory, it sounded great. But now? Now it wasn’t.

Donnie was freaking out; Leo could tell by the way he recited the pi formula, a long string of endless numbers that muddled Leo’s own thoughts. This was so _weird_ – he’s always heard his brother babble on and on about equations and his latest inventions – and Leo always found a way to escape, but this? This meant he was stuck hearing his brother _everywhere_. There was no escape.

Leo laughed nervously at the realization. _‘Hahaha. Oh boy. Oh no – ‘_  

 _‘No, no, no, no, no is right Leon.‘_ Donnie interjected, his voice high-pitched as Leo tried to imagine what he was doing in his room (probably browsing through his laptop for a solution). _‘How did this happen? Why did this happen? Is it part of our mutation? Perhaps we’ve developed some side effects that have now just showed. Or maybe this is just a nightmare - ‘_

Leo groaned out loud despite the fact that Donnie wouldn’t hear him. Leave it to his genius brother to try and find a logical answer. _‘Can’t we figure this out in the morning? It’s like, past 11 pm. I’m going to look horrible when I wake up.’_ Truthfully, Leo wanted to know how this happened too but at the expense of his beauty sleep? No thanks.

_‘Seriously Leo? Is that all you can think about?’_

_‘I’ve got a mean headache Don – of course I wanna sleep.’_

_‘A headache…interesting…so I wasn’t the only one. This definitely has to be linked with the problem at hand.’_  

 _‘I did complain about it the whole way back.’_ Figures his brother had ignored him though. _‘So I think we should both go back to sleep. Rest makes the brain all better right? You’ll be able to figure it out in the morning.’_  

He doesn’t expect Donnie to agree right away. He knew his brother was relentlessly stubborn when it came to his inventions or trying to figure out what was missing in his schematics. It would take him hours to even pry Donnie off just so he could get something to eat. Even so, Leo pressed on. _‘If you don’t let me sleep I will sing that song. You know which one.’_ And then neither of them would get some sleep. 

Leo doesn’t hear anything for a moment and then a second later, _‘Ugh. Okay. If only because I know you won’t shut up.’_  

The red-eared slider grinned. _‘I promise I’ll help you figure this whole thing out in the morning.’_

 _‘…Fine.’_  

 _‘G’nite.’_ Burying into the covers, Leo glanced at the digital clock beside his bed – it was almost midnight. Things would be better for him in the morning right? Yeah, maybe this was just a thing for a couple of hours…it would go away and with that, hopefully the headache too. 

Leo felt the fatigue wash over him, his eyes closing shut as he heard Donnie’s rattling thoughts in the distance.

 

* * *

 

Needless to say, Leo did not have a good night’s sleep. 

He woke up to Donnie’s thoughts bouncing around in his head (which meant that this problem had, in fact, not gone away) And Leo couldn’t really understand what Donnie was thinking about. Something about a device? Leo was still drowsy from his lack of sleep. What time was it? 

5:45 AM 

 _‘UGGGH.’_  

Leo was a morning person but this was _too_ early. Waking up at 7 AM was perfect – the sun would be out at that time, the rays filtering through the grates and the bustling of the city could be heard from down below. But it was still over an hour from his usual wake up time and an hour of sleep was very precious to Leo. 

Apparently Donnie did not think so. At least the headache was gone. Rolling over his bed, Leo complained. _‘Dude. Did you even sleep?’_  

Donnie’s reply came without missing a beat. _‘I did. A couple of hours.’_  

A groan. _‘Don. Buddy. Pal. What did I say – ‘_  

 _‘Hey, I let you sleep. I’m surprised my thinking didn’t wake you up sooner. With you being a light sleeper and all.’_ And that much was true. Whereas Donnie was a heavy sleeper and the only thing that would even wake him up was a nightmare, Leo was a pretty light sleeper and had to wear earmuffs for those really bad days. So to have slept through Donnie’s constant thoughts was a feat. 

 _‘So you coming over here or not Leon.’_  

_‘Yeah. Yeah, give me ten minutes.’_

Stretching, Leo yawned as he got up and made his way through his home. Early mornings in the sewers were still cold no matter the season and even with his pajamas, Leo could still feel the way the chilly air clung to him. He shuddered and wrapped his arms around himself. Of the four brothers, Leo had always been susceptible to the cold – it’s why he always wore his pajamas and a nightcap. 

Leo stepped into the bathroom – the room was large enough to accommodate Raph – and began his daily washing routine. 

It took him precisely ten minutes to get everything done and despite the fact that he hadn’t gotten the amount of sleep he wanted, Leo thought he still looked pretty nice (and somewhere in his head he heard Donnie scoff). So when he walked into his brother’s room, a cup of hot tea in one hand a mug of coffee in the other, he couldn’t help but snort. 

“You look terrible. I mean, even more so than usual.” 

With bags under his eyes, Donnie gave him a hard look and took the mug of coffee from his hands, turning his attention towards the computer screen. Leo looked over his brother’s shoulder and took a sip of tea. 

“Soooo…what’s this?” 

“Research,” Donnie began, the mug already half-way empty. “Trying to find a way to suppress our thoughts – I managed to manufacture a chip that’s going to connect to our cerebrum and therefore should be able to block all thoughts – of course it’s still in beta – “ 

Leo nearly spit out his tea. “Aha, okay there’s a lot to unpack here buddy. It’s still in beta but you wanna test it out? Uh, can I ask who the unlucky guy will be? Cuz I know it’s not gonna be me.” _‘Does he even remember what dad said last time?’_  

Donnie turned to look at him, annoyed. _‘Hey! I can hear you remember?’_  

“Right, right. Sorry.” 

Donnie glanced at the chip on the table and sighed. Leo placed a reassuring hand on his brother’s shoulder and gave him a gentle squeeze. “So I guess that’s out of the question right? Hey no worries! Maybe there’s a source to this hm? I mean, we both got some nasty headaches after the whole thing with Hypno…” 

And then suddenly, Leo saw a flash of an amulet in his mind – the fight at the museum and how Hypno had aimed it at Leo and Donnie... 

The realization dawned on both of them as Donnie shot up from his seat and Leo nearly fell over. “Oh my banana pancakes, it was Hypno.” 

“You mean that thing he hit us with caused all of this?!” 

Donnie nodded quickly as he began to scribble something down on a notepad. “It all makes sense. The headaches – we were both hit with the amulet – and I remember him saying something about communicating with the dead.” And while Donnie was saying all this, the scenes from yesterday’s events flashed through Leo’s mind, in what he could only assume was Donnie’s thoughts. 

“Okay so,” Leo began as he tried to focus on Donnie while his brother’s thoughts continued to run through his mind. “Let’s just go find Hypno and make him undo all this. Problem solved!” 

“No, not problem solved Leon. We don’t know where he is. _Somebody_ lost him.” _‘We lost him. Because of our stupid fight.’_ And then a brief scene of Leo arguing with him was displayed in his mind. 

Typical of Donnie to pin the blame on somebody else. But now Leo was able to read his thoughts, he knew exactly what his brother was thinking and no amount of denial was going to save him. He let the accusation slide and sat on Donnie’s bed instead. “Then let’s just wait for him to show up again.” 

Donnie rolled his eyes. “That could take days or even weeks and no offense but I don’t want to have telepathic powers with my brother. Maybe I should try the chip after all – “ 

“No we aren’t doing that Don! The dude’s bound to show up – he’s like what, always showing up at least once a week. It’s practically part of our routine now.” 

Leo could see Donnie massage his temples, weighing the options over in his head and by extension, in Leo’s too. Finally he sighed in defeat. “Fiiiine. But the moment we hear word of Hypno, we go over to him and fast. Understand?” 

Leo gave him a nod. “Crystal clear.” 

“Now that just leaves our family…oh geez, our family. They’re bound to figure out what’s wrong with us!” 

Oh yeah. Leo hadn’t taken his brothers into account and dad? Dad was lazy but if Leo knew any better, it’s that his dad always knew when something was up. He claimed it was ‘fatherly instincts’ but Leo knows its something other than that. 

Still, Leo wasn’t about to let that intimidate him. 

Wrapping an arm around his brother’s shoulder, the red-eared slider gave him a confident grin. “Don’t worry about it, just follow my lead. Now go wash up. We have a long day ahead of us.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Leo would've sung in his head is that zendaya is meechee and I personally think it's hilarious. 
> 
> Also, headcanons abound in this fic.
> 
> Anyways thank you all so much for the comments! Coming back from work and reading them put a smile on my face and literally made my day so much better. ;___; Regarding updates, I said I would try to update weekly but there will be times I won't be able to. So if I don't update during the weekend, it's just that either I was too tired or busy (or I hit writers block). I'll try not to be infrequent though!


	3. Chapter 3

Donnie was not a morning person.  
  
He preferred staying up late, possibly past two in the morning because there was something oddly comforting about hearing the occasional car driving above him - and reminding him that's he’s not the only one up at ungodly hours.   
  
Waking up at five am and then not going back to sleep? And helping Leo out with breakfast at seven in the morning? That was not in his agenda.  
  
But it had been and Leo had insisted that Donnie had to help out with breakfast if they wanted to appear ‘normal’. And Donnie had thought sneakily, _'Well first of all we aren't normal so jot that down.'_ Which earned him a ' _then no bacon for you'_ and that's when _‘Okay fine’_ , Donnie had agreed.  
  
And now the two were sitting across from each other with Raph on Leo's side and Mikey on Donnie's. So far, the other two brothers didn’t suspect a thing.  
  
"Wow you two really outdid yourselves! This is almost as good as Mikey’s!" Raph piped up, in between mouthfuls of egg, bacon, and sausage. His diet consisted mostly of meat, and alongside Donnie, is mostly what he ate. Leo and Mikey preferred leafy greens though they weren’t above eating pizza.  
  
"Hey!" Mikey pouted and made a beeline for the snapping turtle’s orange juice. All this earned was Raph putting his hand on Mikey’s face to push him away.  
  
Leo laughed. "Thanks Raph - though I'm sure nothing can beat Mikey's cooking. Right don?" Cue a rather conspicuous stare.  
  
Could he make it anymore obvious that something was going on between them? Even so, Donnie went along with it.  
  
"Of course my dear Michelangelo. It is as the great Shakespeare once said, ‘Unquiet meals make ill digestions.’ Your food has this pizzazz, a flavor that cannot be found in New York! In fact, your food is on par with Ratatouille-"   
  
_'That's not the rat's name Don.'_  
  
Donnie stopped and glared at Leo, who stared back at him and shrugged. _'I'm just saying.'_ Of course he was just saying.  
  
"Its been a long time since I've seen the movie okay?"  
  
"Uh Donnie? What are you talking about?"  
  
Oh shoot.   
  
He hadn't realized he actually replied back out loud. He hadn't meant to of course but it slipped out without a second thought (ha!) And now Raphael had asked him a question with a dumbfounded expression on his face and Mikey was looking at him with wide and curious eyes.  
  
"Uh I was -"  
  
And that was when Leo grabbed a rolled up omelette and threw it straight at Raph's face.  
  
Mikey gasped and Donnie heard Leo's voice in his head, _'Diversion!'_ And ‘ _Noooooo, how could this possibly be a good idea Leo! –‘  
_  
Then Donnie felt something greasy smack him in the face that smelled like bacon. Peeling it off, he found that it was indeed bacon and that Raph also had his arm curled like he was getting ready to throw something else and Mikey had his plate covering his face like a shield. This wasnt a diversion, this was a -  
  
"Food fight!"  
  
In an instant, food was flew everywhere - milk was spilled and Donnie nearly fell (and Leo did fall), Mikey grabbed some tomatoes and threw them at Raph - who couldn't even see where he was dodging because Donnie had thrown some toasted bread at his face and Leo was using an empty cereal box to cover his face (it didn’t work).  
  
"Oh ho ho!" Raph laughed wickedly, the glee on his face clearly evident, as he pointed at Donnie with a mushy banana. "You're a goner Don! Take this! Banana jujitsu!"  
  
Donnie braced himself for inevitable impact of gross banana bits but then Leo jumped in front of him and took the hit, peel and all. _'Ugh this is so gross!'_ Leo's thoughts rang through Donnie's head as Leo dramatically fell to the floor. "Avenge meeeeee!"  
  
_'And I thought I was the theater kid.’_ Donnie thought with a roll of his eyes. ‘ _But no matter!'_ Donnie grabbed a few stray oranges that had been knocked out from its bowl. "This is for my brother!"  
  
"Mikey, now!"  
  
"What the - "  
  
Like true ninja fashion, Mikey jumped out of nowhere and was swinging.... a long chain of sausages? _'Where the heck did mikey get those?!'_  
  
'He found em at the junkyard three days ago. Pretty sure it's gone bad by now -' Leo’s thoughts cut in as Mikey let out a cackle and Donnie was a little scared by that. _‘Should we worried about him?’_

_‘More like worry for yourself!’_  
  
The sausages nearly hit Donnie as he jumped out of the way and hid behind their now overturned table. The sausages d _id_ hit Leo, who sputtered out, "Ugh Mikey it smells bad!" And scrambled to hide behind the table with Donnie. They could hear raph and mikey whoop like they had won the fight.  
  
"We gotta take those two out! Seriously though, the sausages smell like that time you-"   
  
"Okay!" Donnie interrupted though that did not stop Leo from thinking about the unfortunate incident from all those years ago. "Let's focus on something else yeah? Like how we're going to take down those two -"  
  
Leo tapped his chin and in an instant, Donnie saw Leo’s thoughts formulate a plan. It was the perfect plan and better yet: they didn’t need to tell each other what it was. This telepathy thing did have its perks.

The blue-banded brother gave Donnie a grin and without a word, signaled a countdown. 

_‘1’_  

_‘2’_

_‘3!’_

The two of them popped up from their hiding place with Leo holding a carton of milk. His plan may be perfect but he was so going to buy the milk next time. 

“Here’s my super early birthday gift for the two of yo – huh?” 

Donnie and Leo stopped in their tracks. 

Instead of having Raph tower over them, like they expected to, they both found Mikey lying on the back of the oldest brother’s shell with his tongue out and Raph blinking at them dazedly. The chain of sausages had been using was nowhere to be found. Raph whispered something and Donnie barely caught what he said. 

“Pops – “ 

A shadow scurried past them and Leo gulped. Donnie doesn’t even need to read his thoughts to know that oh, they’re both so _screwed_. 

* * *

 

“Haha! You should have seen the look on Purple’s face when I ambushed him! And Baby Blue too! Hahaha! I am the food fight king!” 

Okay so this hadn’t been in Leo’s plan at all and Donnie totally blamed him for the embarrassing loss. Splinter was gloating, glee evident on his face as he continued to laugh, poking fun at all of them while the four brothers wallowed in shame. 

“Now then,” Splinter began as he opened up the fridge and reached in for a slice of cake. “Whoever started this fight – _Blue_ – “ (and Leo groaned) “ – Will clean this up while I go watch the golden ladies!” 

“Girls, dad.” 

“Yes, yes, whatever.” 

With that, Splinter left, leaving the mess in Leo’s hands. Donnie felt an ounce of pity but then again, Leo did start the fight. Raph and Mikey probably had the same idea in mind because they both gave Leo a ‘that’s what you get’ look and Raph patted the red-eared slider’s shell. “Good luck bro.” 

Leo glowered. “Thanks for the help.” 

“You’re the one that started it Leon~” Mikey replied in a singsong voice and skipped out the kitchen with Raph following suit. That left Donnie, who at the moment, was trying to sneak out and only stopped when Leo thought, ‘Be a cool dude and help me out!’ 

“Hey I wasn’t the one that started the fight! Great distraction by the way.” 

Leo rolled his eyes. “Oh admit it. You had fun.” 

And Leo was right. Donnie did have fun. It had been awhile since he enjoyed an activity like that. More often than not, he’d been spending his time cooped up in his lab, finding ways to make himself stronger in order to make up for his weak shell. 

_If it weren’t for my battle-shell, I would never be able to play with them like this._  

“Hey.” 

Leo’s concerned voice cut through Donnie’s thoughts and oh – he hadn’t meant to think those things. Leo was looking at him with worry and Donnie hated that. 

But he was tired – the adrenaline from earlier combined with the lack of sleep left him with no energy to tell Leo to mind his business, so instead Donnie shrugged it off and offered him a small smile.

“I had fun.” And that was the truth. 

Leo looked like he wanted to say more but instead he returned the smile. Which was a relief – Donnie wasn’t sure if he liked to have a heart to heart right now. “Cool, cool. Now…help me pretty please?” 

Donnie smirked. “You can try and give me puppy eyes but you know that only works when it’s coming from Michelangelo.” 

“Hey!” A dirty apple core was thrown and Donnie dodged it with ease, grinning as he ran out of the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took like three weeks to update....I hit writers block but managed to push through! Writing is hard.
> 
> Anyways, I hope everyone's had a good start of the year and if you haven't, I hope things get better!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo glanced at his brother and then around the room, spotting a giant whiteboard and a bunch of messy writing. It reminded him of the time Donnie put together a bunch of pictures when the pizza places went down. Though that one had been more fun to look at. This just looked like a bunch of formulas – something about a distance? Ugh, he seriously hoped he wasn’t here for a math lesson…

Days without anyone finding out about Leo and Donnie’s situation: three. 

Three _long_ days that Leo and Donnie spent trying not to act like their minds where linked together. Was it easy? Absolutely not.

Once, Mikey had asked them if they were playing a staring game because Leo had been humming a song in his head and Donnie was mentally trying to shut him up. So _of course_ that led to them both replying “Yes and I’m winning!” at the same time because apparently being linked to your brothers mind meant saying things in unison now.

Ten minutes after that, Raph had asked the two if they’d seen his dumbbells to which Leo replied with, “Have you checked – “ and Donnie finished, “Underneath the sofa?” And it took a second for the two to realize what they had done and less than that for Raph to burst out laughing. In fact, he laughed so hard he asked if they’d both seen Frozen lately.

 _‘Oh…the we finish each other’s sandwiches part –‘_  

 _‘Yeah, I got that.’_  

And Splinter? Oh Leo definitely thought his dad knows. He had to! Why else would he sneak up behind them when they were too focused talking to each other mentally and then give them a heart attack when he popped up – not to mention laugh at them! Okay, maybe a heart attack was a bit of a stretch but Leo or Donnie didn’t seem to think so. 

But despite it all, Leo thought they did a pretty good job of hiding their twin telepathy. Donnie thought so too, if his agreeable hum was anything to go by.

 

* * *

 

Dinner had gone without a hitch, or maybe a few, depending on which turtle you asked. Everyone had gone off to do their own activities or at least that’s why Leo thought. Apparently his genius of a brother had been formulating an idea in his mind, which of course also meant that had _his_ head filled with Donnie’s constant mental chatter and okay, he kinda wished there was an off switch button.

 _‘That’s precisely what I’m thinking about Leonardo!’_  

Leo rolled his eyes. Whatever Donnie wanted to theorize could wait. Right now, Leo just wanted to meditate. It was a personal pastime of his – a way to relax and quiet the dark thoughts that would try and grip at his mind. It worked, most of the time. 

That and he loved collecting plants, or at least the ones that could live without sunlight. Leo always found them nice to look at and made his room much more lively. His brothers knew about the plants but the meditating part? He couldn’t let them find out. 

 _‘It’s so uncool!’_ Young Leo had thought one day and ever since then, Leo hadn’t told anyone.

He sat with his legs crossed, blue bandana hanging off from his neck. Donnie’s rambling thoughts were fading in the distance now and Leo hummed happily. 

Peace. Tranquility. Go into zen mode – 

 _‘LEON!’_  

“AH!” Startled, Leo jumped from his spot and nearly knocked his plants over. Even if his brother wasn’t near him, he still felt like Donnie shouted directly into his ears. 

 _‘What the – dude, give a warning will ya?’_  

 _‘I did. Didn’t you hear me?’_ He could practically hear the irritated voice in his head. Sheepishly, Leo scratched the back of his neck. _‘Oh…uh, I didn’t?’_  

There’s a beat of silence. _‘H-how could you not, we’re linked – ugh, whatever. Come over here will you?’_  

Leo really didn’t want to – but he pretty much lost his mojo the minute Donnie had yelled in his head. And truth be told, he was curious as to what his brother had concocted. So long as it wasn’t an experiment – the last time that happened, Mikey glowed in the dark for three days. 

Chuckling at the memory and ignoring the snarky _'I don't remember that'_ from his brother, Leo stood up and made his way towards Donnie’s room. 

“Good you came.” 

Leo glanced at his brother and then around the room, spotting a giant whiteboard and a bunch of messy writing. It reminded him of the time Donnie put together a bunch of pictures when the pizza places went down. Though that one had been more fun to look at. This just looked like a bunch of formulas – something about a distance? Ugh, he seriously hoped he wasn’t here for a math lesson… 

“I know we didn’t exactly have school but uh, this is cutting it a little too late right?” 

Donnie shook his head, ignoring Leo’s sarcastic question. “I’ll teach you the distance formula later, but this!” He pointed at a part of his writing, a giant circle written on it. “This my dear Leonardo, is what I want to put into practice!” 

Leo leaned in, squinted. “…Mental block?” 

“Read the rest.” 

“Can telepathy reach even the farthest of minds? The distance…Oh!” The realization dawned on him and Donnie grinned. Huh, so this is what’s got him so excited! 

“We’ve been close enough to communicate but we’ve never really been far apart. So it got me thinking – can we still read each other’s thoughts if we were far away?” 

“Like a Wi-Fi signal!” Leo caught on. “Kinda like when we go outside and sometimes there isn’t service and you get all mad – “ 

“Er, yes kinda like that. Anyways, I’d really appreciate it if you’d help me out. I want to put this theory into practice and see if it works.” 

Leo shrugged. “Sure I’m game. Honestly Don, I was a little worried you were working on that chip again. Having that stuck in my body would’ve been terrible.” 

Donnie picked up the chip, twirling the small thing in his fingers. “Still an option if Hypno suddenly decides to _never show up again_.”

 

* * *

 

New York City was as busy at night as it was during the daytime. It was no wonder it earned the nickname of ‘The City That Never Sleeps’. Skyscrapers that lit up entire blocks and giant billboards with neon colors that flickered vibrantly, bustling streets and crowds of people going about their night. The bright lights even outshined the stars above New York. 

Leo sat perched atop a building’s ledge, watching people walk down below, as Donnie set up a parameter. Dishing out an excuse had been easy – the soft-shell turtle had told Raph and Mikey that he was going over to Repo Mantis’s place to go and gather some junk and Leo would tag along. Raph nodded and just told them to be back before ten. 

“All set up.” Donnie tapped on his cellphone’s screen. “All right Leo, here’s the deal. You’re gonna go the end of this block and if we can still hear each other’s thoughts, you go to the next block and so on and so forth.” 

Leo raised a brow. “U-huh, okay. And I’m assuming that once we won’t hear each other, I just text you or something?”

Donnie clapped his hands excitedly. “Bingo! Now go forth Leo – and keep going even if it’s twenty-five miles away.” 

There was no way their mental link would last that far would it?! 

 _‘That’s why we’re running this experiment, Leon.’_ Donnie’s thoughts answered for him and Leo groaned. _‘Okay but if I have to go all the way to New Jersey then you owe me.’_ With a casual wave, Leo back flipped off the building and landed, or more like stumbled, across the building from Donnie and then continued running. 

 _‘You have your sword? Just create a portal to get back here.’_  

Leo couldn’t help but laugh at that. _‘What makes you think creating portals are so easy?’_ He dodged a few antennas and satellite dishes and only managed to trip on one which only elicited a confused cry from somewhere in the building. Oops?

‘ _I thought you perfected your odachi.’_ It was less of a question and more of a statement from Donnie’s part and even though Leo knew that was just how his brother expressed himself, through blunt communication, it still hurt. But he wasn’t going to let that get to him, not with his brother poking around in his head. Leo leapt across another building, the last one on the block, and stood on the ledge. 

 _‘I’m trying to work on that – anyways, I’m at the end of the block and we still have twin telepathy.’_  

 _‘We’re not – ugh, just keep going then.’_  

Without missing a beat, Leo continued to run and jump off buildings. It was quiet for a second and then Donnie asked, _‘So why can’t you get your portal to work?’_  

Ugh, why was he so insistent about his mystic weapon all of a sudden? 

 _‘I don’t know Dee.’_ And Leo couldn’t help the way his thought held an irritated tone to it. _‘But I’ll tell you once I figure it out! Or even better, maybe we can trade weapons? How does that sound?’_ A bo tech staff would be so much better than his stupid sword… 

 _‘Yeesh Leo. I was just going to suggest that maybe I can try and see what’s up with your odachi – I mean the time’s you’ve open up a portal have worked what, like three times? Maybe you’ve gotta charge it up to it’s full potential – ‘_  

Charge it up? Leo smiled bitterly _. ‘Sorry to say this doesn’t run on titanium batteries Don.’_ The buildings around him flew past by him now, the scenery around him a blur as Leo tried to shake off the nasty feelings that bloomed in his chest. He really, really didn’t want his brother in his head right now. 

 _‘What?’_ Donnie’s voice sounded far away but that didn’t stop him from being angry – did his brother seriously pretend not to hear him? The nerve of the guy! _‘It’s obvious isn’t it?’_ Leo leapt across another building, shame washing over him. _‘The mystic weapon isn’t the problem – ‘_  

 _‘It’s me!’_  

Leo came to a stop, the rooftop cold beneath his feet and his breathing heavy as he tried to catch his breath. He’s never admitted that, least of all to Donnie, who was probably rolling his eyes because of just how _dramatic_ Leo had to be. Seven feet below him, cars drove by and people chattered. 

He was met with silence. 

 _‘….Donnie? Uh, you there bud?’_  

BEEP! 

Leo stumbled back with a surprised yelp, having forgotten about the cellphone that was currently residing in his pouch as it continued to beep, _annoyingly_. He swiped at the screen and was bombarded with messages from none other than Donnie.

 

**Dorkatello:**

    Leo! Where are you? 

**Dorkatello:**

            I stopped hearing your thoughts like three minutes ago! Remember, you even told me that you’d text me. Did you seriously forget?

**Dorkatello:**

            Wait, please don’t tell me you tripped and fell off a building. I cannot have you dying on me over a simple test run.

 

Incredible. Of course Donnie had stopped hearing his thoughts the moment Leo decided to let his stupid charade down. _Of course_. Leo couldn’t tell if he was lucky or not.

 

**Me:**

Chillax Don, I’m fine.

**Me:**

I didn’t trip and fall to my death, thanks for asking.

**Dorkatello:**

 Good. 

**Dorkatello:**

   Do you know where you are?

 

Leo took a quick look around and found the street sign where the building resided.

 

**Me:**

South St. and Clinton apparently. 

**Dorkatello:**

     That’s five blocks from here!

**Dorkatello:**

            Incredible, that’s about 0.25 miles! Or 0.402 kilometers or 402.336 in meters if you find that better.

 

 

Leo was definitely going to change the dork part to nerd later.

**Me:**

Yeah okay, whatever. Now what?

**Dorkatello:**

    Get back here obviously.

**Me:**

See ya in a bit.

 

So Donnie’s theory proved right – which meant that there was a limit to their whole telepathy. That was good right? Leo could probably run off whenever his ugly thoughts reared in. Donnie could too, if the thought he had after the food fight was any indication, though he knew that his brother would prefer to stay cooped in and work on his titanium bust or something. 

He could work with this.

 

* * *

 

Leo could hear Donnie’s thoughts in the distance, which meant that he was getting closer to his brother. Sure enough, he could make out the soft-shell turtle pacing back and forth, the thoughts getting clearer until Leo landed next to Donnie, who currently sported a grin as he typed something into his cellphone. 

“Sup! You look happy.” 

“Oh I am! My theory proved to be correct, why wouldn’t I be happy about that? Although five blocks is quite a stretch – still, this telepathy does have its limits.” 

_‘That’s what I thought earlier too!’_

Donnie glanced up at Leo and smiled. _‘See, my experiments aren’t so bad sometimes.’_ ‘ _I never said they were!’_ Leo protested. 

“Anyways,” Donnie started as he slipped his cellphone into one of the slots in his battle-shell. “We should head back – I want to look into this some more now that we know what the limit is. That and it’s almost ten – ah geez Raph’s gonna give us a big lecture…” Then Donnie’s eyes lit up with an idea and Leo felt his heart fill with dread because of course Donnie would think making a portal to take them back home would work. 

“I can’t.” 

Donnie looked at him incredulously. “What’s with you Leo? You used to want to show off your portal powers. Is this because your sword isn’t working properly? I told you I could try and fix it – I still have that crystal I snagged from Baron Draxum, I’m sure that could help.” 

Leo could tell Donnie was being sincere this time, that he really wanted to help in his own way but Leo knew, deep down, that it wouldn’t work. 

But he couldn’t tell that to Donnie. 

So Leo slung an arm around his brother, who just gave him an annoyed look, and groaned. “Dee, I’m just so _tired_. I can’t work my mystic mojo stuff if I’m tired! I just ran five blocks!” 

Donnie raised a brow, not looking particularly convinced. “And you’d still rather walk?” 

“Yup.” He pretended to yawn and sunk further into the soft-shell turtle, who got the message and shrugged him off. “Okay, okay. Fine. You come up with an excuse as to why we’re late.” Without a second word, Donnie leapt down onto the alley below. 

Leo sighed in relief, though the blade on his back felt heavy. Convincing his brother had been easy enough, having cultivated this part of his persona ever since he knew he’d never catch up to his brothers. But it was fine. As long as he kept his negative thoughts to himself and without Donnie around, he’d be fine. They’d both be fine. Having telepathy between your brother was still fun! Young Leonardo would love this!

Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear Donnie will get his angsty moments. Leo is just a lot more easier for me to write? Probably because he's my favorite haha. Also this chapter is longer than the previous ones. 
> 
> Anyways, this week I got an email saying I was nominated for tumblr's tmnt universal fanfic comp, WHICH IS LIKE. SUCH AN HONOR??? The fact that people like this fic surprises me so much tbh....I'm really glad everyone is enjoying it! ;w; And just being nominated is enough for me! Everyone's just such amazing writers, so best of luck to everyone there!
> 
> Thanks for reading and see you all next update! o/


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